Slaves, ¹  be subject ²  to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; ¹  he leads the ewes along.

You give me ¹  your protective shield; ²  your willingness to help enables me to prevail. ³ 

Speech ¹  that heals ²  is like ³  a life-giving tree, ⁴  but a perverse tongue ⁵  breaks the spirit.

Brothers and sisters, ¹  if a person ²  is discovered in some sin, ³  you who are spiritual ⁴  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. ⁵  Pay close attention ⁶  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

May your mouth ¹  be like the best wine, flowing smoothly for my beloved, gliding gently over our lips as we sleep together. ² 

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ¹  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

Through patience ¹  a ruler can be persuaded, ²  and a soft tongue ³  can break a bone. ⁴ 

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

But the oppressed will possess the land and enjoy great prosperity. ¹ 

My teaching will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, ¹  as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth.

When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought ¹  they could carry out ²  their purpose, so they weighed anchor ³  and sailed close along the coast ⁴  of Crete.

And the Lord’s slave ¹  must not engage in heated disputes ²  but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient,

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ¹ 

Likewise, the most ¹  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, ²  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

(Now the man Moses was very humble, ¹  more so than any man on the face of the earth.)

The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.

I led them with leather ¹  cords, with leather ²  ropes; I lifted the yoke ³  from their neck, ⁴  and gently fed them. ⁵ 

“Tell the people of Zion, ¹  ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ² 

Yet do it with courtesy and respect, ¹  keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you. ²